Sanctuary Cities/Immigration Legislation
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Week : Apr. 22 - 26 Sanctuary Cities/Immigration Legislation The Florida House of Representatives voted Wednesday to require local officials to comply with federal immigration authorities, a move that brings the Republican-controlled state government to the cusp of enacting one of the nation’s most stringent laws against “sanctuary cities.” The state House legislation, which passed in a 69-to-47 vote, would bar local governments from ignoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests — known as detainers — for local jails to hold suspected undocumented immigrants until federal authorities take them into custody. It also mandates that local agencies use their “best efforts to support federal immigration law” and threatens a fine of up to $5,000 per day for entities that violate the law. Cont’d on next page While the definition of sanctuary cities varies, most analysts say Florida does not have any. BROWARD LEGISLATORS TO LEAD DEMOCRATS IN SENATE AND HOUSE. 2020 - 2022. Senator Representative Representative Gary Farmer Bobby DuBose Evan Jenne State Senator Gary Farmer, Senate District 34 is the leader-Designate for the Florida Senate Democrats for 2020-2022 and State Representative Bobby DuBose, District 94 and Evan Jenne, District 99 with overwhelming support will lead the House Democrats for the 2020-2022 Legislative Terms. Broward County is Florida most Democratic County. The Broward Legislative Delegation is made up of 19 total members: 5 Senators, 14 House Members. Congratulations Senator Farmer and Representative DuBose and Jenne. TEXTING WHILE DRIVING Sanctuary Cities/Immigration (cont’d). COULD BECOME A PRIMARY OFFENSE “This bill is about public safety and making sure we remove the criminal element of illegals that are here,” said state Sen. Joe Gruters, sponsor of TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — the Senate legislation and chairman of the Florida Republican Party. Texting while driving would At least 25 states considered legislation dealing with sanctuary policies become a primary traffic last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. offense along with talking on a But Florida — a state where 20 percent of the population is foreign-born handheld cellphone in school — has emerged as an especially emotional battleground in the nationwide and construction zones under a fight over those laws. bill passed by the Florida Senate. More than 120 Florida business leaders, ranging from a former chief executive of Carnival Cruise Line to executives of home-building companies, signed an open letter to DeSantis and legislative leaders The Senate's 33-5 vote on warning that the bills could cripple the state’s robust economy. Thursday made changes to a “Immigrants represent over 25 percent of our workforce and employ over House bill passed two days 500,000 fellow Floridians,” the letter states. “It is their innovative spirit that earlier by a vote of 104-9. The keeps us moving forward. Anti-immigrant legislation will inflict long-lasting bill now goes back to the damage to the state of Florida.” House. Florida’s attorney general could take civil action against state or local The Senate added the government entities, which advocates fear could make individual language on school and government employees liable for actions they take in support of an undocumented resident. Although most ICE detainers are good for 48 construction zones. Drivers hours, advocates say the legislation infringes on the rights of would have to use hands-free undocumented immigrants by denying them due process. devices if they wanted to talk on their phones in those areas. The Senate passed its version with a vote of 22-18 but with their changes, the bill heads back to the House. Under current law, officers can https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/florida-house-passes-bill-that-forbids-sanctuary-cities-would-issue-fines-for- only cite drivers for texting if failing-to-help-federal-immigration-authorities/2019/04/24/8c95f1ce-65e5-11e9-a1b6- they are pulled over for some b29b90efa879_story.html?utm_term=.70a4134f64b6 other violation. The bill would allow officers to stop motorists Assignment of Benefits heads to the Governor simply for texting or using a handheld phone in prohibited TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) — After a fierce lobbying battle that zones. included arguments about insurance rates and “bad actors,” the Florida Senate on Wednesday approved an overhaul of the insurance practice known as assignment of benefits. The bill requires reports to guard against racial profiling. The 25-14 vote sends the measure (HB 7065) to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who quickly issued a statement saying he will sign it. Passage of the bill was a https://www.usnews.com/news/ major victory for insurers and business groups, which have argued that “AOB” best- abuses and excessive litigation have driven up homeowners’ insurance states/florida/articles/2019-04- premiums. “The exponential growth in AOB abuse has contributed to 25/florida-senate-passes-bill-to- mounting insurance costs for Floridians for far too long,” DeSantis said in a ban-texting-while-driving prepared statement. Cont’d on next page Firefighter’s Cancer Coverage TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida Senate and Florida House voted unanimously to entitle firefighters to cancer coverage as part of doing their jobs, moving Florida closer to joining about 40 other states designating the disease an occupational hazard for those first responders. SB 426 establishes cancer as an occupational hazard tied to firefighting and requires firefighters be afforded full health insurance coverage with disability and death benefits. Under the bill, firefighters would qualify after meeting requirements including not smoking in the last five years. The bill, which carves out an alternative to workers’ compensation, would also grant firefighters a one-time lump sum of $25,000 upon diagnosis of one of the 21 cancers specified in the legislation. Advocates had pointed to the changing hazards of firefighting for years, saying carcinogens from the synthetic materials used in buildings had elevated the already existing risks posed by smoke inhalation during a blaze. They referenced studies that showed an increased incidence of cancer among firefighters compared to the general population, even as fire departments have taken precautionary measures to help protect firefighters against the chemicals that cling to their skin or their firefighting gear. But groups representing local governments, which largely are responsible for their fire departments, had been opposed to the bill’s progress for multiple years, citing the financial cost. This year’s bill, according to a staff analysis, was estimated to cost a little less than $5 million for the state and local governments. The Senate then voted 39-0 to approve the bill. The House passed the bill 116-0. In the gallery, several firefighters from across the state and loved ones were watching as the bill passed. Among them was Claudine Buzzo, a firefighter from Miami-Dade, who had been diagnosed with cancer and had traveled multiple times to Tallahassee to advocate for the bill. The bill heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk for a signature. https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/2019/04/23/firefighter-cancer-coverage-gets-approved-in-florida-senate/ Assignment of Benefits (cont’d). “In recent years, there have been calls for reform and today, the Legislature took action. I thank them for their efforts in getting this done and I look forward to signing this meaningful legislation into law.” Assignment of benefits is a decades-old practice that has become controversial in recent years, at least in part because of an increase in residential water-damage claims. In assignment of benefits, property owners in need of repairs sign over benefits to contractors, who ultimately pursue payments from insurance companies. While insurers contend the practice has become riddled with fraud and litigation, plaintiffs’ attorneys and other groups say AOB helps make sure claims are properly paid. They accuse insurers of often trying lowball amounts paid for work. The House passed the bill April 11, and the Senate ultimately went along with the House’s plan. As an example of one of the changes, the bill would let insurers offer policies that do not allow or restrict assignment of benefits. The concept is that such policies could be offered at lower prices to homeowners. Another key part of the bill would effectively limit attorney fees in AOB lawsuits filed by contractors against insurers. The fee changes, which involve a formula, would not apply to lawsuits filed by policyholders. Opponents of the bill argued, in part, that it should guarantee rate reductions for homeowners. The Senate on Tuesday rejected a proposed amendment aimed at requiring reductions. Sen. Gary Farmer, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat who has been an outspoken critic of the bill, questioned the insurance industry’s contentions about a “crisis.” “This bill is designed to cure a crisis that has not been actuarially shown,” Farmer said. https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/04/24/assignment-of-benefits-insurance-bill-headed-to-gov-desantis/.